The fox's turquoise eyes gleamed as she looked between the floating treasures and the now-visible small lizard resting nearby.
The moonlight reflected softly off the storage ring still hovering in front of her.
Her tail swayed slowly behind her.
"Well…"
she said quietly, her voice full of satisfaction.
"Looks like I just robbed a very successful cultivator."
For a moment she continued exploring the contents of the ring, carefully sorting through the resources with her spiritual sense.
More items revealed themselves.
Bundles of talismans.
Some defensive.
Some offensive.
A few even carried the unmistakable aura of **Golden Core–level techniques**, each one sealed carefully to preserve its power.
"Not bad…"
she murmured approvingly.
Then her attention shifted again.
Her spiritual sense moved deeper into the ring.
Something large sat in the far corner of the storage space.
At first she assumed it was simply another pile of supplies.
But as she focused—
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What's this?"
With a pulse of spiritual energy, she pulled the object out.
A heavy shape appeared in the moonlight and dropped onto the grass with a dull **thud**.
It was a **large black metal box**, its surface covered in strange etched runes.
Unlike the other items in the ring, this box was tightly sealed with several spiritual locking formations layered over one another.
The fox tilted her head.
"Hmm."
Her excitement dimmed slightly, replaced by curiosity.
"Why would he seal this so carefully?"
She walked closer, sniffing the box cautiously.
The runes glowed faintly as her spiritual sense brushed against them.
Her ears twitched.
"This… isn't just a normal lock."
Her voice lowered thoughtfully.
"These are containment runes."
She stepped back slightly.
Her turquoise eyes flicked toward the lizard again.
"Either something very valuable is inside…"
Her tail swayed slowly once.
"…or something very dangerous."
The valley remained quiet under the moonlight.
The sealed black box sat between them.
And the fox stared at it with growing interest.
---
The black metal box rested heavily on the grass, its dark surface drinking in the moonlight.
Faint runes crawled across its lid like thin veins of dim gold, occasionally flickering as if reacting to the surrounding spiritual energy.
The fox circled it slowly.
Her paws moved carefully over the grass as she studied the layered formations engraved across the box.
"Containment seals…"
she muttered under her breath.
Her turquoise eyes narrowed as she leaned closer.
"These are not simple locks."
Thin strands of her spiritual sense touched the outer formation cautiously, testing it the same way she had tested the storage ring earlier.
The runes pulsed faintly in response.
But nothing attacked her.
No defensive backlash.
No trap formation activating.
The fox's ears twitched.
"That's strange…"
She tilted her head slightly.
"If this was meant to protect treasure, there would be defensive triggers."
Her tail flicked slowly behind her.
"But these…"
She tapped lightly on the side of the box with a claw.
"…are meant to keep something **inside**."
Behind her, the small lizard still lay quietly with his eyes closed.
But the fox's gaze flicked toward him anyway.
A small grin appeared on her muzzle.
"Well."
She turned back toward the box.
"There's only one way to find out."
Her spiritual sense began examining the formations more carefully now, tracing the flow of the runes.
Layer by layer.
Seal by seal.
Minutes passed.
Then suddenly—
Her ears perked.
"Ah…"
She found it.
A control node hidden within the formation.
A release pattern.
But the fox didn't open it immediately.
Instead she stepped back again.
Her eyes studied the box carefully.
"…This cultivator was cautious."
she muttered thoughtfully.
"If he sealed this much power around it…"
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"…then whatever's inside might not be friendly."
Her tail swayed once more.
Then she looked over her shoulder toward the lizard again.
Her voice carried a teasing tone.
"You're awake, right?"
Her turquoise eyes gleamed.
"Because if this thing explodes…"
She smirked slightly.
"…I'll be blaming you for letting me open it."
The small lizard didn't move.
He remained lying on the grass beside the fallen spirit herb, body relaxed, eyes still closed as if he were asleep.
The fox watched him for a moment.
Her ears twitched.
Then she snorted softly.
"Pretending, huh."
Her tail flicked once.
Without waiting for a reply, she turned back toward the sealed black box.
Moonlight reflected faintly across the runes carved along its lid.
The fox inhaled slowly.
Her spiritual sense extended again, this time moving directly toward the **release node** she had discovered earlier.
Carefully.
Slowly.
She pressed against the formation.
The runes flickered.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
**Click.**
A faint metallic sound echoed from inside the box.
The runes across its surface dimmed one by one, like candles being extinguished.
The containment formation collapsed.
The fox's ears shot upright.
Her body instinctively tensed as she jumped back several steps, ready to move if something burst out.
For a few seconds—
Nothing happened.
The black box simply sat there.
Silent.
Still.
The fox waited a little longer before cautiously approaching again.
"…Well, that's anticlimactic."
she muttered.
She lifted one paw and carefully pushed against the lid.
The heavy metal top shifted slightly.
Then slowly—
It slid open.